Shareholders back Novion/Federation merger
Novion Property Group securitiesholders have given the company a near unanimous backing for its proposed merger with Federation Centres.
The vote came just days after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) conditionally approved the deal.
Novion independent non-executive chairman, Richard Haddock, revealed more than 85 per cent of securities on issue were voted on, with an average of 99.9 per cent of votes cast in favour of the merger.
"The results of the securityholder vote are a strong endorsement of the merger to create one of Australia's leading REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts)," he said.
"This transformational deal is expected to create significant value for our securitiesholders."
As reported earlier this week, ACCC Commissioner, Jill Walker, gave the green light for the acquisition, that will see the combined Federation/Novion group own or co-own 91 shopping centres across Australia, after they entered a court-enforceable undertaking to divest their stake in either the Karingal Hub shopping centre or the Bayside centre.
Walker said the ACCC flagged concerns over the Karingal Hub and Bayside shopping centres, as they were the only large multi-purpose shopping centres within 20km of the Frankston CBD.
The ACCC concluded that Karingal Hub and Bayside are each other's closest competitors in the Frankston region and that common ownership of these shopping centres would be likely to substantially lessen competition for shoppers in the region," Walker said.
AUTHOR
Nicholas O'Donoghue
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